Essentialism: The Disciplined Pursuit of Less

Corporate cog, small business owner, artist, or harried stay-at-home parent--we all have big goals we'd like to pursue if we could just find enough time in the day. The number one piece of advice offered by teachers, mentors, life coaches and time management gurus? Prioritize. Sounds great. But how does one do that when faced with a never-ending list of must-dos?  According to author Greg McKeown, the first thing to dump is the list. A "priority," he says, is ONE thing. The First thing. Discovering what your First thing is--and how to structure life so that you're able to focus on it--is what ESSENTIALISM: THE DISCIPLINED PURSUIT OF LESS is about. The concept is simple enough: Do less but do it better. Yet, as we know, simple doesn't mean easy. There's nothing easy about admitting to your boss that you cannot possibly do justice to project he's set on your desk when there are three other ones demanding your attention. It isn't easy to give up your bowling league, your online gaming group, and your book club to finally finish that novel you've been "writing" since college. And it's downright excruciating to say to your kids: will it be karate, soccer OR drama? Because mom and dad need their time, too. What McKeown proposes is a radical re-think of how we design our days and focus our attention. ESSENTIALISM is directed to the corporate world, but the ideas and suggestion are easily adaptable for those in public service, the self-employed, students or those looking to make the most of a hobby they're passionate about. It really is up to each of us how far we want to take this philosophy--from solving a particular problem (How do I plan a wedding for 500 AND sleep AND not lose my job?) to a total life makeover that strips our days down to the barest and most meaningful essentials. The book provides a framework for individual readers to explore, adapt and build upon. I do wish Essentialism was a bit longer and included more case studies of people in varying life/work situations. I guess that would undermine the premise--that our lives are OUR lives and only we know what our priority (in the singular!) should be. Nevertheless, it  would have been helpful for McKeown to delve a bit more into the problem of competing demands--as a father of small children, he must have plenty of experience with the challenge of balancing family and work. Also, some might say that his view of how bosses will take take an employee's decision to skip time-wasting meetings or reject new projects is overly optimistic, especially in our still-recovering job market.  I borrowed my copy of ESSENTIALISM from the library, but I'm going to buy my own. It looks to be one of those books that become more and more useful as you put its ideas to work. It'll be something to turn to when, invariably, I find myself allowing the trivial to hijack my  "one wild and precious life."  

I didn't complete Chapter 1 before I paused, set the book down, and immediately began to simplify my office space. This book has become a way of life for me. Greg McKeown's statement "Separate the vital few from the trivial many" has helped me to become disciplined not MORE disciplined. Think you are disciplined now? You will find out quickly that, in fact, you are not. You will breathe a sigh of relief as you enjoy the "disciplined pursuit of less". This book is not just for the CEOs and corporate executives in the world, it is for anyone desiring to make the highest contribution they can to the world in which we live. I love this book!!!

Practical explanations, contrasts, and recommendations for filtering out all the things that impede progress, growth and success in those things that truly matter.

Yup

It helps you rethink your priorities.

The business world worships at the alter of multi-tasking, and it's leaders are heralded when they can figure out how to do more with the same or less amount of time. Individuals think they don't have a choice but to become proficient at multi-tasking because there's always so much to do! And therein lies the problem ... the thought that we have to do all that stuff that could possibly be done. Greg McKeown wants to rock your world by teaching you there's another way to think, live, and work. That other way revolves around doing "less but better," based on the concept he's an evangelist for called "Essentialism." McKeown does an effective job teaching this concept in his book, "Essentialism: The Disciplined Pursuit of Less," published by Crown Business. The book is more than an explanation of "Essentialism" followed by filler. The author does an intelligent yet understandable job of explaining and making an argument for Essentialism, and then walks the reader through the essential core-mindset of an essentialist, and how to go about developing a lifestyle that pursues doing "less but better" by focusing on what is essential. Many readers may initially be tripped up by the very concept. Life is stuffed with so many things to do and so many choices to make; aren't we supposed to see how many of them we can take on and get done? No. But that's not what we've always been taught, and it's certainly not what has been modeled for us or expected from us. What would your life look like if you purposely, thoughtfully started saying no to options and choices that were not essential to how you have decided to live your life, both personally and professionally? Chances are, your life would be very different, but the result would likely be your doing "less but better." We've developed as the norm the idea of life being about doing a lot, and only some of those things being done very well. But life could be about doing less --- just the essential things --- extremely well and saying no to the rest. Building such a lifestyle requires changing one's thinking and being disciplined in the application of this new mindset. McKeown lays out the essential elements of essentialism with a smooth writing style, easy-to-understand terms, and relevant stories to illuminate his teaching. Applying what McKeown teaches could result in a more unencumbered, more fulling, and even more productive life. For that reason, I recommend you read this book and let it challenge you to assess whether you're really spending your time and resources on the essential things in life, or if you're packing your life full of every option made available to you, no matter how unimportant it might be. The contrast might just motivate you to make some changes. I received this book free from the Blogging for Books program in exchange for this review. I was not required to write a positive review. The opinions I have expressed are my own. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255: “Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising.”

This book was really good.